High volume production of machined parts or assemblies such as are required in the manufacture of engines, transmissions or other automotive components is commonly done by the use of transfer machines in which the workpieces are automatically moved through a series of work stations. At each station, there is performed a part of the machining or other operation required to be done on the particular workpiece, such as, drilling, milling, reaming, boring, tapping, etc. Similar machine configurations are utilized in the assembling, testing and gaging of parts and assemblies.
While such transfer machines may take many configurations, the most common form is the so-called in-line transfer machine in which the workpieces are transferred linearly through a series of work stations. The workpiece is either directly engaged by a transfer system or supported on a pallet, in turn supported by a transfer system extending between the work stations. Each work station includes one or more work heads, each mounted on a base separate from each other and from the bases supporting the transfer system.
The conventional arrangement is one in which the work stations are spaced apart in a horizontal plane. Relatively complex workpieces requiring numerous machining operations, such as transmission housings, manifolds, etc., require considerable floor space for such machines due to the large number of work stations required.
The spacing between work stations is largely determined by the need for physical access to enable tooling adjustments and replacements and the performance of maintenance functions. Thus, a substantial proportion of the floor space of the machine is a result of the need for such access space to the machine.
In recent years, the sharply increased expense of construction and maintenance of factory buildings has rendered the square footage of floor space required by such machines a significant factor in the overall cost of these machines.
At the same time, the access afforded by these spaces is none-too-convenient since the operator must climb up between the heads and lean into the work station area. Thus, tool changes and adjustments are laborious and time-consuming, increasing the machine down-time and labor expenses involved in the operation of the machine.
A problem encountered in the manufacture of such machines is in the expense involved in the customary "try out" assembly of the machine in the plant of its manufacture. The accepted procedure in the manufacture and sale of this equipment is for the machine to be assembled in the plant of the machine tool builder in order to be tried out to insure that it will perform satisfactorily in production. After the machine has been operated for this purpose, it is disassembled and shipped to the production site and thence reassembled.
The configuration of such transfer machine is such that a great deal of labor is involved in their disassembly and reassembly. These machines include separate bases for each of the work heads, as well as for the various components of the transfer system, since the physical size and relationship of these components necessitates individual bases. These bases must each be carefully aligned and leveled with respect to each other. The work heads and bases must thus also be disassembled from the remainder of the machine and, since many of the hydraulic and electrical lines run from work head to work head, a relatively great number of such electrical, hydraulic and lubrication lines must be disassembled and reassembled.
Another result of the physical orientation of the various components is the necessity to remove the accumulation of machining chips from beneath the machining head at the station. Since the workpiece moves into the station in a horizontal plane and the machining head is advanced horizontally into engagement with the workpiece, chips are generated tending to build up beneath the tooling covering the workpiece and necessitating a great deal of maintenance effort to remove the chips and creating the possibility of the chips entering into the various moving parts and openings in the workpieces.
This is particularly a problem for the large parts such as are commonly incorporated in heavy construction and farm equipment in which considerable metal is removed during the course of the machining operations.
These problems also exist to some extent in the smaller single unit machines such as dial, trunnion, and "ring" transfer machines.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a transfer machine in which the floor space required to accommodate the machine is greatly reduced over conventionally configured in-line transfer machines, as well as single unit machines, such as dial, trunnion, or ring transfer machines.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a transfer machine in which the tooling is readily accessible by the machine operator to reduce the time required for making tooling changes and adjustments.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a transfer machine in which the extent of disassembly required in moving the machine from one location to another is substantially reduced.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide such a machine tool in which the accumulation of chips at the machining station is greatly reduced and the removal of chips is facilitated over conventional designs.
It is another object of the present invention to simplify and reduce in bulk the base supports required for the various components.